This Feeling
by Infamousplot
Summary: A birthday fic for Seikatsu-shi. "They say that if you stare at the cherry blossoms for too long, they'll make you crazy. That, or you'll fall in love." Ed mused. "That's just an old Xingese myth." Winry chuckled. "Wanna see if the myth is true?" EdWin!


**Happy (belated) Birthday Seikatsu-chan! I'm sorry I was a few days late T.T **

**Everyone who isn't Saikatsu-shi, this is a b-day fic written for her. She loves EdWin and writes amazing FMA stories (especially EdWin) and she's mah best FFN buddy too XD Unfortunately... She requested an EdWin fic from me for her bday, and I've never written an EdWin fic before... Romance isn't exactly my genre, but I did my best. Seikatsu-chan, I'm so sorry that this fic is so crappy T.T Next time I'll try to start earlier so I have more time. Happy Birthday!**

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><p>A gust of wind tossed Ed's blond bangs across his face, and with a scowl, he brushed them aside, squinting at the offending force of nature. In response, it blew right back, knocing his air back into his eyes.<p>

"Isn't it a beautiful day, brother?" Al asked from beside him, and Ed laughed.

"Yeah, it's just gorgeous." He replied, trying -unsuccessfully -to keep his hair out of his face. In truth, if he didn't count for the wind, it really was a nice day. The sun was shining, the sky was bluer than ever, and the cherry trees were like blushing pink dots against the rolling green landscape. Ed took a deep breath on Resembool air and smiled. It was days like these that made him proud to be a country boy. Of course, they wouldn't even be here today if it weren't for a certain country girl...

"Come on guys!" Winry called enthusiastically from ahead. Ed glanced up at his mechanic and grinned despite himself. He had to admit, Winry sure knew how to pick a good day to go out. Halfway up the hill they'd always taken to get to school, Winry stopped, waiting for him and Al. The breeze made her pale blonde hair dance wildly around her face. Ed glanced up at her and felt his smile grow a bit. The sky was the bluest he'd seen in awhile, but even then, it had nothing on Winry's eyes. The two deep blue orbs watched him expectantly as the girl shifted her hold on the blob of red and white in her arms -the Rockbell's old picnic blanket.

"Yeah, brother." Al laughed, speeding up. "Come on!" The suit of armor caught up with Winry in a matter of seconds, and Ed just smirked; heaving the old wooden basket over his shoulder.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" He waved them on ahead, taking his dear sweet time with each step. Winry sighed, rolling her eyes. Al paused ahead of her, waiting patiently. She smiled sweetly at him, gently pushing the well-used checkered blanket into his arms.

"Al, do you think you could find a spot for us?" She asked. "I'll wait up for Ed." She winked, and Al chuckled, nodding.

"Okay. Don' take _too_ long." He teased, causing Winry's face to lit up with red.

"J-Just go, okay?" She stammered, all but shoving him on his way. Al may have been able to take a hint better than anyone else she knew, but he had a habit of taking them _too_ well... Sighing, she shoved a loose lock of hair behind her ear and turned her gaze back to Ed, who was walking teasingly slow.

The girl trotted down the hill, taking up pace next to Ed.

"You chose a good time to come home." Winry smiled. "I hear the weather is supposed to be good all week." Ed glanced at her and nodded.

"Yeah. It is nice out." He agreed, while Winry inwardly cursed herself. Talking about the weather? Seriously? Ed and her had been like family for years, so why was it that now, all of a sudden, she was at a loss for words? Wasn't she supposed to be able to talk to Ed about anything? Opening her mouth to speak, her eyes stopped on her short companion -who was getting taller every day, it seemed -and she remained silent.

Even if she'd last seen them only a few weeks ago, each gap of time between their visits seemed to create an even larger barrier between her and her dear childhood friends. Sighing, Winry turned her gaze away -no easy task. After all, Ed's size wasn't the only thing changing. Like all teenagers, he was maturing... And each time Winry saw Ed, he looked more and more like an adult.

"Hey..." Ed said suddenly, breaking off Winry's train of thought. He looked at her and grinned, a grin that made her heart flutter just a bit. "Race ya' to the picnic spit!" He cried, sprinting up the hill, the basket bumping along behind him. Winry gaped, embarrassed and thoroughly pissed at her 'dear childhood friend.'

"You little-" Winry took off after him, using her longer legs to catch up.

Ed may have looked like an adult, but that said nothing for the way he acted...  
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Winry expelled a happy sigh, leaning back against her hands. After eating two sandwiches and three slices of apple pie -which she'd made herself -she didn't think she could eat another bite. Ed on the other hand, was still stuffing his face. He'd always had a piggy appetite -as long as the main course hadn't involved milk.

A bird flitted over, chirping happily, and the three looked up at the sky. Winry's smile broadened. The sun was out, the blossoms were in bloom, and she was with her two best friends... She couldn't think of a way to make this day any better. Al had just finished recounting one of their latest adventures -though if Winry had to guess, she'd say it had been edited a bit before being presented (some of their tales sounded more like tall tales than actual events) -and the laughter had just started to die down. Out of the corner of her eyes, Winry caught movement, and she turned to see Al getting to his feet and brushing his metal gloves off.

"I'm going to go for a little walk." He announced suddenly, causing both blondes to look up in surprise. "I'll be back in a bit." His voice smiled in place of his mouth, and with a little wave, Al wandered back toward the path, whistling quietly to himself. Winry felt a twinge of guilt, knowing that Al was leaving so they could be alone, but also a bit of relief. She'd wanted to spend some time with just Ed and her, time that hadn't involved her yelling at him for breaking his automail for the umpteenth time, and so far this was her first opportunity since they'd come back from their travels.

Ed and her exchanged somewhat embarrassed glances, both wondering if their wishes had been that obvious, and if so, if the other blonde had noticed it too.

"Now I feel bad." Winry muttered, half jokingly, half serious. Ed shrugged, sitting up and hugging his legs to himself.

"He'll be back soon. I bet he just wanted to reminisce some more." Ed allowed, though he knew too that Al had left because he'd felt like a third wheel. "It's been awhile since we've been here." He said this with a note of guilt in his voice. It seemed that they never came here just to visit. It was always business as usual when they stopped by, and Ed was sure that must have bothered the Rockbells in one way or another. As far as he could remember, they hadn't stopped by 'just to say hi' or because they'd 'missed them' in years.

"Well, the life of a State Alchemist, and all that, right?" Winry smiled sadly. She understood why the Elric brothers weren't around as much as they used to be, and she knew if they had it their way they'd come by more often. But that didn't stop her from wishing it could be different. If she had her way, then the boys would already have their bodies back, and they would get to do stuff like this all the time. But, as she'd learned at a very young age, life was never that simple.

"Yeah..." Ed sighed, responding to her previous statement. He wanted to say something along the lines of 'Wish we could come more often', but he wasn't quite sure how to word it. Instead he began tracing the outlines of the trees against the sky, which was already starting to get darker as the sun began to set. _Time flies..._ He thought, his hand falling from her legs, one landing just right so that his fingers fell atop those of his mechanic's. The two looked down, then up at each other, and pulled away, blushing furiously. Ed returned his gaze to the trees immediately, urging the heat in his cheeks to fade, while Winry grasped her hand with the other one, her fingertips tingling just a bit.

_Why is it that I feel so different around him now?_ Winry wondered, feeling like an idiot. Ed was her best friend, no matter how much they'd matured and changed, so why couldn't they just act _normal_ around each other? Sighing quietly, Winry laid down on her stomach, watching as loose petals fell from the cherry trees as the wind tossed them back and forth. She wasn't sure how long they sat there, watching the world go by them, but by the time she noticed the color of the sky, it was already a mess of watercolor orange and pale pink.

"Remember when we were little, and we used to race each other home from school?" Ed asked suddenly, shattering the silence. Winry looked up in surprise -Ed wasn't usually one for these sorts of conversations. Nodding, she smiled.

"Yeah... You and Al used to always run off to go work on your alchemy." She mused.

"Yep. And you'd always chase after us." Ed grinned. "You never could find our secret hiding spot, though." He teased, and Winry grinned back.

"Yeah, well you guys were jerks." She laughed, flopping over onto her back so she could gaze up at the sky. Blossoms were floating down like giant pink snowflakes, drifting gracefully wherever the breeze took them.

"It's so beautiful." She murmured. Ed turned his head down, and his golden eyes locked with her blue ones. Immediately, it was as if their gazes had been electrified, and neither one could bring themselves to look away. A light redness crept to his cheeks, and he smiled slightly.

"Yeah." He agreed, not once breaking his gaze. "It definitely is." Winry felt herself starting to blush, and she rolled back onto her stomach. Magnetism gone, the color in Ed's face got darker, and he followed Winry's example of turning away.

"I wonder where Al wandered off to?" He wondered aloud, talking more to himself than Winry. Both blondes glanced around, but saw no sign of the suit of armor anywhere.

"He probably found a cat somewhere and followed it." Winry chuckled, and Ed sighed.

"He better not have..." He muttered, still scanning the area. It was starting to get dark -a dusky orange glow came from the horizon, and only a tiny glimpse of the sun was peeking out over the trees in the distance.

Beside him, Winry yawned, and Ed looked down, his eyes tracing her form. Long locks of yellow hair spilled down her back, tangling with one another as they fell over her shoulders, and the gentle glow from the sun set her azure eyes alight. A small smile graced her lips, and he found himself unable to keep from smiling. She looked so... Peaceful, lying there and watching the trees sway..

"They say that if you stare at the cherry blossoms for too long, they'll make you crazy." Ed mused, and Winry chuckled. "That, or you'll fall in love." He added, and Winry's cheeks glowed pink.

"That's just an old Xingese myth." A graceful finger brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear, and once again Ed couldn't break his gaze. Everything about her was captivating. _Why am I suddenly feeling all this now?_ He wondered, shaking his head as he tried -and failed -to look away from his friend. _Since when did Winry seem so... Perfect?_ That was a description that, a few years ago, he would have been hesitant to use when describing his mechanic. Yet now, it seemed to fit her just right.

_ Where were these feelings coming from? _Ed frowned, wracking his brain. He couldn't seem to think of a spot where they'd suddenly appeared. _Perhaps... They'd been their all along? _He face felt suddenly warm. But... That was it, wasn't it? Maybe he hadn't noticed it all this time because he'd been so used to it, but now... Now, it all made sense. Winry, his childhood friend, his beloved mechanic... He loved her.

Winry peeked up, sensing that Ed was staring at her, and color flushed her cheeks again. So much about him had changed, yet when she came right down to it... He was still the same old Ed. The Ed she'd always loved.

Ed smiled, shifting himself onto his stomach to lie next to Winry. Without his even trying, their bodies seemed to nestle against each other, but this time -despite the blushing -neither one pulled away. Winry slowly leaned her head toward Ed, until it was resting gently on his shoulder, and instead of feeling awkward... It just felt right.

A cherry blossom fluttered down and landed before them, sitting innocently on the picnic blanket and watching them in silence. The two glanced at it for a moment, and then Ed spoke.

"Wanna see if the myth is true?" Ed teased, and Winry blushed. The two leaned in, until their breath mingled in each others faces, and their lips brushed against one another, meeting in satisfaction. Almost immediately chemicals and bliss began to kick in, and they pressed harder against one another. No longer was there an awkwardness surrounding them, or any barriers that Winry could imagine. This moment was perfect -it was right, and nothing could ruin it-

"Guys, I'm back-" Winry and Ed pulled away in a start, the familiar voice awakening them from their moment of bliss. Their heads whirled around, turning to face the metallic intruder who looked like he wished he had chosen any other time to announce his presence. "Um... Actually, I think I left something back there... I'll... I'll just go." Al mumbled awkwardly, stumbling back in embarrassment. Go figure. He'd left to give them time alone, and come back right when his plan had finally paid off.

As Al rushed off, Winry and Ed laid there with red faced and ever-growing grins. They looked at each other, and then laughed, helping each other to their feet and grinning like idiots. Did it really matter if Al had stumbled in and caught them? Did it matter that it had taken them so long to finally realize what their feelings had meant? No. What was the shame in being seen? They were in the right, and right now, hand in hand in the dying light of the day, Edward and Winry had never felt more right.

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><p><strong>Okay. I hate the ending. I hate the middle, too. I suck at EdWin, and I'm sorry this had to be your B-day fic Seikatsu-chan. Next year, I promise to do better. Until then, adios!<strong>


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